Ladder Of Citizen Participation Research Articles

The transportation policy elite and their ladder of citizen participation: Problems and prospects around communication methods in New Jersey

This paper advances theories of public administration, geographies of policy, and transportation planning via an analysis of 17 in-depth interviews conducted with transportation policy elites in the State of New Jersey (USA). In the case studied, these elites sought to facilitate the public's transition to electric vehicles, reflecting a policy change initiated by the state government. However, they were affected by organizational traps that existed beyond the bureaucratic institution in a constellation of related field activities. Using qualitative analysis techniques, the data revealed that organizational traps diffuse alongside policy actors as they themselves sought to diffuse policy. The result revealed barriers that kept public engagement relatively circumscribed, even as elite policy makers believed they were achieving their policy goals via participation of the communities that they intended to serve.

Community Participation Level of Penggung Village on the Agropolitan Region Development in Kecamatan Bandar Nawangan, Kabupaten Pacitan

Pacitan Regency owns abundant natural resources, one of which is in the agricultural sector. In accordance with the RTRW of Pacitan Regency 2005-2025, there is a development plan for the Agropolitan Area in Bandar and Nawangan Sub-districts. This research aims to find out how the level of community participation in the development of the Agropolitan Area of Bandar Nawangan Subdistrict, Pacitan Regency. The descriptive quantitative approach was used to understand how community involvement in Agropolitan Area development planning. The level of community participation was measured using Arnstein's concept (A Ladder of Citizen Participation) and showed the level of community participation at the informing level, which is included in the tokenism classification. This study’s results recommended assistance to local leaders to have similar goals as the government as the means of increasing community participation. The village leaders have greater influence or control because of their proximity to the community. As a consequence, community participation in the development of the Agropolitan Area of Bandar Nawangan Sub-district, Pacitan Regency will be escalated.

The role of public consultations in decision-making on future agricultural pesticide use: insights from European Union’s Farm to Fork Strategy public consultation

ABSTRACT This paper considers the role of public consultations in complex agri-environmental policy-making. Through a critical discourse analysis of submissions to the public consultation concerning the European Union’s Farm to Fork Strategy, we examine the role of public consultations as a democratic process and the extent to which their non-deliberative nature advances solutions to contentious and complex challenges. We explore different perspectives around the future of agricultural pesticide use and find evidence of polarised submissions. Those in favour of reducing pesticides tend to argue on the grounds of planetary and human health, emphasizing that alternatives already exist and resistance to change results from a lack of political will. Those arguing against setting further restrictions on pesticide use, focus on food security and the lack of viable alternatives. Taking inspiration from Arnstein’s (1969) [A ladder of citizen participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224] ladder of participation and Fishkin’s (2011) [Making deliberative democracy practical. Chapter 4. In When the people speak: Deliberative democracy and public consultation (pp. 95–105] questions around what makes deliberative democracy practical, we argue that consultations are not merely ‘tokenistic’, but do appear to be inadequate where discourses are strongly polarised, as they are not sufficiently inclusive or thoughtful, using scientific findings only where these support pre-existing views. As such, we explore how other deliberative approaches may be more adequate for seeking legitimate solutions to complex challenges.

Production of gathering spaces in post-disaster recovery scenarios: case studies from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami-2011

Gathering and public spaces, along with infrastructure and houses, are demolished because of disasters, which weakens the community ties. Different approaches, such as government-led and community-driven, to recovery initiate the recovery of gatherings and public spaces, and the long-term impact of each recovery approach on community recovery may not be overseen. This study attempts to determine incorporation of community participation in different recovery approaches and its corresponding result in the production of gathering spaces, based on two main background theories: Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation and Henri Lefebvre’s production of space triad. We attempted to determine the results by reviewing case studies with different recovery processes after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami-2011 and through interviews and questionnaire surveys. The results showed that the production of gathering spaces may be associated with the recovery scenario in each case study. In community-driven cases, the main gathering spaces are small open spaces, evenly superimposed and accessible, and diverse in spatial configuration, provide services for the users at a good level, and are in a sync with other gathering spaces. By contrast, in government-led cases, gathering spaces contain primary and secondary spaces that lack connections with each other. These main gathering spaces are centralized near disaster public housing sites, are highly accessible to disaster public housing residents, provide a high range of leisure-based activities, and provide services to users from inside and outside of the communities. These main gathering spaces are extended by inclusive open space (Hiroba) and this spatial planning is closer to the concept of public spaces compared to others.

The Ladder of Power: Science Communication and Citizen Science

On March 28, 2022, the Journal of Science Communication published a special issue on participatory science communication featuring 15 papers and essays. The Journal of Science Communication special issue sparked a debate among the four editors over the wording of the call for papers. What is the difference between “participatory science communication” and “citizen science”? Are they different points along a continuum stretching from “simple” to “more involved”? Does “citizen science” incorporate “participatory science communication”? And is all citizen science participatory? A key consideration is the level of involvement by “citizens” in these endeavours, and that consideration translates to questions of power. This essay explores definitions of participatory science communication and citizen science. It examines each of these concepts through the framework of shifting relationships and the implicit power imbalance between scientists and various publics. In doing this, we revisited Sherry Arnstein’s (1969) paper, “A Ladder of Citizen Participation”, and constructed complementary ladders for science communication and citizen science.

Influence of Architectural Design of Arciss 2015 and R-Arciss 2018 Peace Agreements on Security Sector Reforms

The world over, Peace Agreements remain the most frequently used means of ending conflict. For more than five decades, the Southern part of Sudan (now South Sudan) has been plagued by armed conflict, despite numerous conflict resolution efforts by both regional, international state and Non-State Actors. The study evaluates the influence of architectural design of the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS 201 and the 2018 Revitalised-Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan, (R-ARCISS 2018) on Security Sector Reforms (SSRs). The study was anchored on John Paul Lederach’s peace-building theory, social constructivism, Arnstein’s ladder of Citizen participation and securitisation theory. The study primarily adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, with correlational and explanatory research elements. Quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used. Questionnaires, Content Analysis Guides, and focus Group discussions were also used. Target population was former and current members of armed groups in South Sudan. Snowball sampling was used to identify the respondents that were surveyed. Key informants were purposively sampled based on the individuals that could provide the most comprehensive information on the variables of interest to the study. For explanation and clarification, data from the study were presented using descriptive statistics such as tables, pie charts, bar graphs, and percentages, as well as inferential statistics. Findings indicated that the designs of both Peace Agreements are weak. As far as the process is concerned, weaknesses appear primarily where there were a limited number of mechanisms to address impediments to the agreement, little agreement on the ownership of natural resources, inadequate modalities of navigating the interests of external actors, and poor handling of differing political interests. It is recommended that a new process for a strong peace agreement be initiated, and that it should be preceded by rigorous baseline surveys so as to address some of the contentious root causes of the conflict such as negative ethnicity and militarisation along ethnic lines.

A Literature Review of Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to deeply impact education and wider society, with consistent disruption to relationships between authorities and citizens. As higher education sees continuing turbulence overlap with a strengthening of student engagement, this systematic literature review reappraises how students as ‘citizens’ are enabled to shape their learning. It does so in a Scottish tertiary context and through the prism of Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation, a classic framework whose eight rungs present a spectrum of ways that stakeholders can be engaged in decisions. The article explores the use of the ladder over half a century in planning, housing, health, schools and, finally, higher education, analysing critiques and adaptations of the ladder, conducting meta-synthesis across the literature to extract conclusions for student engagement. It concludes that Arnstein’s ladder has continuing value to conversations about partnership in tertiary education, and that the centrality of power to both the ladder and student engagement in a sector and wider world of increasing democratic citizenship presents a challenge to decision-makers. These conclusions, and the study’s limitations, point to further research opportunities that could enhance the understanding of engagement and partnership at a time of change and uncertainty.

Participatory Project Cycle Management and Performance of Donor Funded Projects in Mandera County, Kenya

The performance of donor funded projects in the global arena has been linked by previous studies to participatory project cycle management. According to report by senate county public accounts and investment committee report of 2019, 60% donor funded projects in Mandera County did not perform as expected and did not achieve their objectives. The study's particular goals were to evaluate the impact of participatory identification of the project, planning, implementation and monitoring and assessment on performance of projects in Mandera County supported by donations. The research was directed by community action planning theory, Freire’s theory, Arnstein’s Ladder of citizen participation and theory of change.The research was done using a descriptive research approach.. The study's intended audience was 84 donor funded projects in Mandera County. The size of the sample for the study was 16 donor funded projects representing 20% of the total sample size. The selection process used stratified random sampling. 16 project coordinators from the sampled donor funded projects and 344 household heads the households benefiting based on the chosen donor-funded programs in Mandera County. Questionnaires for household heads and interview schedules for the project coordinators were used as the primary data collection instruments. The acquired data was cleaned, coded, and put into the SPSS version 21 statistical package for social sciences. The study discovered that participation of key stakeholders in project identification, planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation have a significant influence on performance of donor funded projects in Mandera County. The study recommends that organizations executing projects in Mandera County should encourage participation of the community Due to their major impact on the success of initiatives sponsored by donors, they are taken into account in project planning, monitoring, and assessment.. Further studies should be conducted to assess the determinants of low community participation in planning and monitoring and evaluation. The current study only sampled household heads and ignored other stakeholders. Therefore future studies should replicate the current study but widen the scope of the sampled respondents to include other stakeholders. Keywords: Participatory Project, Cycle Management, Donor Funded Projects, Projects Performance, Project Monitoring.

How Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation Can Enhance Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning

How Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation Can Enhance Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning

Moving Up the Ladder in Rising Waters: Community Science in Infrastructure and Hazard Mitigation Planning as a Pathway to Community Control and Flood Disaster Resilience

Public participation is the democratic gateway to more just, inclusive, and resilient communities. However, infrastructure and hazard mitigation planning tends toward top-down, expert-driven processes that fail to meaningfully include communities most at risk of disasters. In this article, we critically examine the potential of citizen science in infrastructure and hazard mitigation planning with a focus on stormwater infrastructure and extreme wet-weather events, as floods are the most common disaster in the US. We review literature on various citizen science approaches, from crowdsourcing to community science, and offer a framework that situates them within Sherry Arnstein’s foundational piece on public participation, a “Ladder of Citizen Participation.” We discuss the opportunities different participatory methods offer for meaningful public involvement, knowledge generation, and ultimately community control and ownership of stormwater and flood infrastructure. We provide case study examples across the US of how public works departments, emergency management, and related organizations have engaged communities around hazard risks and flooding challenges, and offer recommendations for how these programs can be improved. We conclude that in order to produce data needed to mitigate flood disasters and increase trust and public interest in infrastructure needs, civic participation should be grounded in community science, utilizing a multimedia and technological platform. The methods applied and data generated can be leveraged toward public safety, and provide voice, agency, and power particularly to disenfranchised communities most at risk from current hazards and looming climate change impacts.

Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation in the Life Extension and Decommissioning Process of the Kori-1 Nuclear Power Plant

문재인 정부에서 추진되었던 월성 1호기의 폐쇄는 정치적 쟁점으로 부각되며, 사회적 혼란을 불러일으키고 말았다. 심지어는 대통령 선거를 앞둔 시점에서까지 대선 후보들이 탈원전 정책의 철회를 공약으로 내세우면서, 월성 원전 관련 갈등은 차기 정부에서도 해소되지 않을 것으로 예상될 정도이다. 반면에 박근혜 정부에서 진행되었던 고리 1호기의 폐로 과정은 적어도 국가적인 차원에서는 그다지 심각한 논란 없이 원만하게 결정이 내려질 수 있었다. 이에 본 논문은 고리 1호기의 수명 연장 및 폐로 관련 결정 과정을 “시민참여”라는 관점에서 분석하고 있다. 구체적으로는 이러한 연구 목적을 달성하기 위해 아른슈타인의 참여 사다리 모형이 분석틀로 활용되었다. 연구 결과 “수명 연장” 과정에서는 조작 및 처방이라는 ‘참여 결핍’ 수준의 시민참여만이 가능했던 것으로 확인되었다. 반면에 “폐로 결정” 과정에서는 후쿠시마 사고, 정전 사태, 부품 성적서 조작 등의 복합적인 요인들로 인해 고지･협의･회유 단계의 ‘명목 참여’까지 달성되었던 것으로 밝혀졌다. 다만 중앙정부가 결정권을 보유하고 있는 원자력 정책의 특성상 ‘시민 권력’ 수준의 시민참여는 이뤄지지 않았었다. 결론적으로 본 논문에서는 현재 시점에서 잠재적 갈등 요인으로 남아있는 고리 2호기의 수명 연장과 관련해서 시민참여를 강화해야 한다는 단기 및 장기의 정책적 함의가 제시될 수 있었다.

Governance of risk management programs: Learning from Québec's Farm Income Stabilization Insurance program

Involving stakeholders in program decision-making can support existing programs and reduce tensions against the state. However, to be involved, stake­holders may request specific mechanisms to influ­ence program design or outcomes. This paper ana­lyzes the design of four consultation mechanisms and the resultant stakeholder experiences in a pro­vincial Canadian program called Farm Income Stabilization Insurance (FISI). The program offers a protection against low prices. The findings of this paper are based on 18 semi-structured interviews conducted with current and former participants familiar with the mechanisms. An analysis is accomplished through Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation and Glasser’s choice theory. Results show that stakeholder representation can be im­proved by adequately designing consultation mech­anisms and implementing specific actions. Recom­mended practices include separating political and technical discussions, asking a third party to take charge of the consultation mechanisms and prepare information, formally laying down recurrent mech­anisms, and involving high-ranking individuals in the discussions.

Evaluating Geodesign for Community-Based Tribal Planning

Problem, research strategy, and findings Geodesign is a technology-supported planning approach that combines community collaboration and engagement with geospatial analysis to make land use decisions quickly. In this study we tested the role of Geodesign in improving the quality of local plans through community participation and collaborative decision making supported by geospatial analysis. Our research evaluates Geodesign as a tool and process in establishing community engagement in planning decisions by applying and analyzing Geodesign in two Navajo Nation communities in Arizona to use scientific and community knowledge to make consensus-based decisions for land use planning. There are three critical components to this analysis. First, we evaluate the use of Geodesign as a plan-making tool. Second, we examine how Geodesign can be inclusionary for planning using Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation with marginalized American Indian communities. Finally, we look at the planner’s role and required planning expertise in developing successful Geodesign plans. We conclude that Geodesign can empower historically marginalized Indigenous communities to make community-based land use plans that leverage local knowledge/values and geospatial analysis. Takeaway for practice Planners can use Geodesign approaches to collaborate and guide marginalized communities to engage in the planning process and incorporate diverse perspectives and cultural values in decision making. A planner should judiciously apply their expertise in their role as a planning facilitator, trainer, and knowledge resource. Using geospatial data and community engagement, Geodesign produces community-based land use plans.

Differentiating Participation: Identifying and Defining Civic Capacities Used by Latino Immigrants in Participatory Budgeting

Participatory planning has faced challenges engaging predominantly Spanish-speaking immigrants beyond the bottom rungs of Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation. Participating at any level of the ladder requires individual civic skills, or capacities, that are integral to participatory processes. However, the specific skills necessary for collective action are less certain, due in part to a lack of clear definitions and a lack of clarity about how these capacities work in practice. Drawing on two years of data from a participatory budgeting process in an immigrant community in Chicago, Illinois, the authors identify key civic capacities that Spanish-speaking immigrants activated while engaging in civic discourse, and they explore the role these capacities played in moving ideas toward collective decision making. The authors present an organizational schema that aligns the study’s findings of 17 unique civic capacities with capacities identified in the literature as helping participants engage more meaningfully in decision-making processes.

The Participation of Older People in the Concept and Design Phases of Housing in The Netherlands: A Theoretical Overview.

In the Netherlands, there is a growing need for collective housing for older people to bridge the gap between ageing-in-place and institutional care facilities. Participation of older people in the concept and design phases is important to tune the market supply to the needs of (future) residents, yet social entrepreneurs find it challenging to involve older people. This commentary explores various ways older people can participate in the development of new housing initiatives. The ladder of citizen participation is applied to explore different roles that (future) residents could play with levels of influence varying from non-participation to citizen power. Considerations for meaningful participation are discussed, in order to show how collaborations can be formed between (future) residents and decision makers.

How to build stakeholder participation in collaborative urban freight planning

Although freight issues are often the subject of controversy within urban communities, urban freight stakeholders rarely participate in local planning processes. This paper studies how different criteria to ensure actor participation in collaborative processes are practised in urban freight planning in seven Norwegian cities. The authors link different criteria of actor participation to Arnstein's “ladder of citizen participation”, and study if the collaborative urban freight arenas provide participants with enough power to affect the outcome of improved planning process for urban freight. Participatory observation of collaborative arenas in Norwegian cities, combined with interviews with participating actors, revealed that knowledge and consensus building allowed stakeholders to reach the fifth step on the ladder of participation. The findings suggest that city characteristics influenced what criteria were most important. One important finding was the need to introduce a tenth criterion ‘political and planning anchorage’, which seemed particularly important for private stakeholders' participation in collaborative processes. This finding may be of value to local authorities striving to enhance stakeholder participation and include both private and public stakeholder concerns in urban freight planning.

A ladder-truss of citizen participation: re-imagining Arnstein's ladder to bridge between the community and sustainable urban design outcomes

There are well understood urban design approaches that respond to the economic, social, and environmental pillars of sustainable development, but urban design decision-making for sustainable outcomes is complex both technically and, in democratic societies, politically. Urban design decision-making must incorporate citizen participatory processes that, as Sherry Arnstein in her 1969 paper, 'A ladder of citizen participation' points out, are undertaken at varying levels ranging from the tokenistic through to citizen control. In this paper, we explore benefits and challenges of citizen participatory processes illustrated with practical examples from an Australian context and propose improvements that utilise emerging technology. We then outline a new approach that rotates Arnstein's ladder diagram 90° to instead form a ladder-truss of citizen participation. This ladder-truss includes aspects of each rung as a structurally necessary and interwoven component of inclusive participation aimed at bridging between the community and sustainable urban design outcomes.

Citizen Engagement for Co-Creating Low Carbon Smart Cities: Practical Lessons from Nottingham City Council in the UK

Cities constitute three quarters of global energy consumption and the built environment is responsible for significant use of final energy (62%) and greenhouse gas emissions (55%). Energy has now become a strategic issue for local authorities (LAs) and can offer savings when budget cuts have threatened the provision of core services. Progressive LAs are exploring energy savings and carbon reduction opportunities as part of the sustainable and smart city agenda. This paper explores the role of citizens in smart city development as “buildings don’t use energy: people do”. Citizens have the potential to shape transitions towards smart and sustainable futures. This paper contributes to the growing evidence base of citizen engagement in low carbon smart cities by presenting novel insights and practical lessons on how citizen engagement can help in smart city development through co-creation with a focus on energy in the built environment. A case study of Nottingham in the UK, a leading smart city, is analysed using Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation. Nottingham City Council (NCC) has pledged to keep “citizens at the heart” of its plans. This paper discusses learnings from two EU funded Horizon 2020 projects, REMOURBAN (REgeneration MOdel for accelerating the smart URBAN transformation) and eTEACHER, both of which aimed to empower citizens to reduce energy consumption and co-create smart solutions. Although these two projects are diverse in approaches and contexts, what unites them is a focus on citizen engagement, both face to face and digital. REMOURBAN has seen a “whole house” approach to retrofit in vulnerable communities to improve liveability through energy efficiency. User interaction and co-creation in eTEACHER has provided specifications for technical design of an energy saving App for buildings. eTEACHER findings reflect users’ energy needs, understanding of control interfaces, motivations for change and own creative ideas. Citizens were made co-creators in eTEACHER from the beginning through regular communication. In REMOURBAN, citizens had a role in the procurement and bidding process to influence retrofit project proposals. Findings can help LAs to engage demographically diverse citizens across a variety of buildings and communities for low carbon smart city development.

Future Planning Practitioners and the “Waipahu Talk Story”: Learning from and Reflecting on Participation

Fifty years ago, Sherry Arnstein presented “a ladder of citizen participation,” highlighting the relevance of citizen participation for the social imperatives of her time. Today, there is widespread emphasis on public participation in planning practice. Planning education stresses its importance in addressing the principles of social justice. This prompted us to explore how graduate students on the threshold of becoming planning practitioners designed public engagement tools, and facilitated participation to examine proposed transit-oriented development plans. Our paper analyzes the nature of their engagement and reflection, spotlighting the potential and pitfalls of doing public participation. We find that enabling critical pedagogical approaches to engender collaborative and reflective practice benefits students, educators, and the profession in distinct ways.

English

Globally, there has been a campaign to promote participation of females in the entire development agenda in general, but specifically in the higher education sector. Public universities in Uganda have attempted to ensure that female stakeholders are given a platform to participate in leadership and governance of their respective universities, though still seemingly scanty. The study therefore explored perceptions of female student representative participation in leadership on public university councils in Uganda. The Ladder of Citizen Participation was utilised to get meanings and understandings from the perceptions regarding levels of participation. The study deployed a phenomenological research design with unstructured interview, transect walks and letter writing methods and a two-level narrative analysis technique used to capture plots and themes from the narratives. Findings reveal that female students do not have sufficient ground to effectively participate in leadership and governance due to several constraints. The revealed constraints include lack of sufficient leadership capacity, insufficient resources and gender stereotypes. It is therefore concluded that participation of female student representatives on public university councils in Uganda was mere tokenism! It is therefore recommended that the higher education sector should deliberately support female students towards effective participation in leadership. This can be done through building their capacity in leadership and governance and providing sufficient resources to enable them easily pursue their leadership and governance mandate, among others.   Key words: Participation, female students, leadership, governance, public universities.